This article
appeared in EUSKA KVERKO, a Socio-cultural Review about Euskara
written in Esperanto, Number 1/94
(Jan-April) and was translated by Jean E. Smythe, Nanaimo, B.C.
During the 17th century ... there was a very prosperous and vigorous fishing
industry in Saint Jean de Luz, a coastal village in the province Lapurdo [this
may be the Esperanto form, which might be a little different in Euskio
language)]. In that period thousands of Basque fishermen and sailors both from
the peninsula and the continent - that is, southern and northern - carried
their language to other seas and harbours.

Baldur Ragnarsson [an Icelandic Esperantist and author] fittingly reports on
the early contacts between Icelanders and Basques, the clearest witness of
which is the small basic Basque-Icelandic dictionary. But perhaps it is in
North America that the traces of ancient Basques are best conserved even today.
These fishermen reached Canada to catch whales in Labrador and cod in
Newfoundland. Their presence seems to have been both numerous and constant, as
they left behind Basque place-names so entrenched that they still continue
today. It has been calculated that about a thousand people fished every year,
from springtime till December, just in Red Bay (in Labrador, across from
Newfoundland).

As for the commercial aspect, they felt the need for communication between
their languages very early, and the Basques even encouraged one of their young
men to stay ashore, so as to learn the language of some Canadian Indians. On
the other hand, it is known that the latter practiced the language of the
newcomers, the Basques, to the point that in their first contacts with the
French (1540-1640), the Indians spoke to them in a kind of Basque jargon or
pidgin.

In addition, as one can see in the Repertoire Toponymique du Quebec (Quebec,
1978), among prsent-day official place-names are several in French which allud
directly to the activity of Basque fishermen: Anse au Basque, Cap du Basque,
Collines du Basque, etc.

In the article is also a map; beside it is the following:
Basque sailors, having gained a lot of experience in the previous centuries,
went into the seas of the West Indies and the East Indies in the 16th century.
With them went the Basque language, leaving behind place-names in many places,
which are retained even today. On the right [the map] can be seen those in
Newfoundland. Can one conclude from that that Basque still lives in Canada?

The following article, "Europe is near", appeared in the August 1994 issue of
CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons)
that stands for) and was by Tom Weissman. It was
about St. Pierre & Miquelon, and included just a paragraph
mentioning the Basques:
... it was in the 16th century that fishermen and settlers from Brittany,
Normany and the Basque regions of France and Spain settled here. The Basque
tradition and folklore are very much alive. Just about every evening on Place
Richard Briand, the locals play a game very much like jai alai on the Fronton
or "big wall"; and groups of Basque folk dancers perform durinv various summer
festivals, such as the Fete Basque in August, and France's national holiday,
Bastille Day on July 14.

This page is part of Buber's Basque Page and is maintained by Blas Uberuaga.
Please report any problems or suggestions to Blas.
Eskerrik asko!